Investigations into how Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield has performed his duties will now include evidence from local MPs.

Angry MPs had demanded the veil of secrecy surrounding the investigation be removed.

Judge John Milford has been appointed to look into the delays which have left some inquests uncompleted for two years ­ to the anguish of bereaved families.

Earlier this week the Department of Constitutional Affairs insisted the inquiry would be entirely private, refusing to say who was conducting the investigation, whether the findings would be made public or even explain how evidence could be submitted.

Now Redcar's Labour MP Vera Baird has obtained assurances that Judge Milford will invite all Teesside MPs to provide information. They will be able to explain in detail to the judge their concerns about the coroner's performance and include evidence from next-of-kin.

Ms Baird is therefore urging those who wish to tell the inquiry about their own family's problems to get in touch with their constituency MP.

The Redcar MP also learned the judge, on his own initiative, has asked for all the statistics about Mr Sheffield's performance as a coroner to be passed to him. Those figures will let him compare the Teesside coroner with other coroners across the country ­ and show how the average time from death to the completion of an inquest is substantially longer.

Figures issued by the Home Office this week confirmed that inquests take an average of 34 weeks to complete compared with a national rate of 19 weeks.

However the report which Judge Milford will eventually submit to Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf and the Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer is to remain confidential.

Whether the overall conclusions and recommendation will be made public is not yet certain. However the Department for Constitutional Affairs has told Ms Baird there are precedents for the report being released.

And Teesside MPs believe it is unrealistic for Whitehall to believe that the findings can be kept from them.

Also still unknown is the inquiry's timetable but senior civil servants have indicated Judge Milford intends to contact the MPs very soon.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs is also still refusing to disclose the inquiry's terms of reference.

However Ms Baird said: "After all the difficulties of getting a clear picture, I am now relieved and satisfied that the inquiry judge will ensure that he receives all the evidence he wishes from the MPs."